Saito Mokichi's Tanka
Ryoji Shimada
死に近き (shinichikaki)
母に添寝の (hahanisoineno)
しんしんと (shinshinto)
遠田（とほだ）のかはづ (tohodanokahadu)
天に聞こゆる (tennikikoyuru)
<English Translation>
As she nears the end,
I lie beside my mother,
and through the quiet
from a field far away
the frogs' cries rise to heaven.
最上川 (mogamigawa)
逆白波の (sakashiranamino)
たつまでに (tatsumadeni)
ふぶくゆふべと (fubukuyufubeto)
なりにけるかも (narinikerukamo)
<English Translation>
Now even whitecaps
on the Mogami River
rise against the flow
as the snowstorm blows and blows
as the evening turns to dusk.
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